Eugene,
To "not discount" means to treat the "future enjoyments"
as equal in value to present ones. That means using a
zero discount rate.
There are a lot of people in environmental and ecological
economics who argue for this, along with a lot of others,
including some from the Marxian tradition. There are a lot
of issues floating around with this.
Ramsey influenced Pigou who in 1932 complained
about the "defective telescopic faculty" that people use when
contemplating the future (and discounting, that is, devaluing it).
Barkley Rosser
-----Original Message-----
From: Eugene Coyle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Thursday, March 01, 2001 2:48 PM
Subject: [PEN-L:8568] Re: Re: [Fwd: Re: query: Frank Ramsey]
>As I read the quoted sentence I take it to mean discount rates should be
higher
>than, not zero.
>
>Clarify?
>
>Gene Coyle
>
>"J. Barkley Rosser, Jr." wrote:
>
>> michael,
>> "It is assumed that we do not discount later enjoyments
>> in comparison with earlier ones, a practice which is ethically
>> indefensible and arises merely from the weakness of the
>> imagination."
>> Frank P. Ramsey, "A Mathematical Theory of Saving," Economic
>> Journal, 1928, vol. 38, no. 152, pp. 543-559, quote appearing
>> on the first page.
>> Essay also reprinted in D.H. Mellor, ed., _Foundations: Essays
>> in Philosophy, Logic, Mathematics and Economics_, 1978,
>> Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press, pp. 261-281, where it
>> appears on p. 261.
>> Barkley Rosser
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: michael perelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> Date: Thursday, March 01, 2001 1:01 AM
>> Subject: [Fwd: [PEN-L:8500] Re: query: Frank Ramsey]
>>
>> >> He is also famous for arguing on ethical grounds
>> >> that discount rates should be zero.
>> >
>> >I don't recall that in the 1928 article. Where did he say that?
>> >
>> >"J. Barkley Rosser, Jr." wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Frank Ramsey was a mathematical growth
>> >> theorist and philosopher at Cambridge who died
>> >> in his 20s in the 1920s. He was the first to posit
>> >> a growth theory model with an infinite time horizon,
>> >> I believe. His "Mathematical Theory of Saving" is
>> >> very influential in growth theory.
>> >
>> >> Offhand, I am not sure what a "Ramseyite" approach
>> >> would be, but I suggest that it involves infinite horizon
>> >> optimal growth models. Ramsey was very influential]
>> >> on Keynes and even people like Wittgenstein, but that
>> >> side of him does not appear in his most famous paper
>> >> (I think it appeared in the Economic Journal).
>> >> Barkley Rosser
>> >> -----Original Message-----
>> >> From: Jim Devine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> >> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> >> Date: Tuesday, February 27, 2001 12:17 PM
>> >> Subject: [PEN-L:8480] query: Frank Ramsey
>> >>
>> >> >Yesterday, I received an e-mail advertising a macroeconomics textbook
>> that
>> >> >was based on the ideas of Frank Ramsey. It wasn't Keynesian or
>> monetarist,
>> >> >but Ramseyite (to paraphrase the blurb). Does anyone know anything
about
>> >> >Ramsey and his ideas? It sounds like he totally ignored the factor of
>> >> >uncertainty in making decisions about the future, but I don't know
>> anything
>> >> >about him.
>> >> >
>> >> >Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >
>> >--
>> >
>> >Michael Perelman
>> >Economics Department
>> >California State University
>> >Chico, CA 95929
>> >
>> >Tel. 530-898-5321
>> >E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
